The Cannon

I was a Lieutenant in the Maryland 122nd
Militia on April 6, 1776,
when this incredible feat of our heroism occurred.

I was, it seemed, deafened by the thundering
sounds of war that day: the clapping of musket fire upon my ears; heart-stopping
blasts of cannons; earth quaking thuds of galloping horse hooves causing the
ground beneath me to rumble as if the devil himself was pounding on the earth
from the pits of hell in protest to all of the noise we were making. It was one
of the only times in my life that I truly wished to be deaf to save my ears
from the cries of dying men all around me.

We had been in battle for two weeks and no matter how many we killed,
those damned Redcoats kept coming. They had chased us into territory we didn’t
think they would follow. But they did. They had even followed us through swamps
and meadows.

Finally cornering us in a small canyon, their infantry advanced,
accompanied by a single cannon, while their artillery raced up the outer ridge
on the south side of the canyon. For almost two days, they kept us pinned down
with the two cannons on the ridge while the foot soldiers waited like a pack of
wolves to finish us off. Of the forty men under my command, twenty-eight would
find eternal rest in that God forsaken hole.

We were near the very back of the canyon, taking cover behind the largest
rocks and boulders we could find. A heavy tree line right above us prevented
the Redcoats’ cannons from pummeling our backsides, so they had to settle for a
position that put them right above their own foot soldiers, which was about two
hundred feet away from us. To get the best angle they needed, the cannons were
perched on the very edge of the rocky canyon wall. Though, even at that
distance, the cannon balls still reduced our boulders to mere rubble and I knew
that my men would eventually have nowhere left to hide.

One hundred feet below the cannons, at the base of the canyon wall, were
the twenty, or so, remaining British infantrymen and the two artillerymen with
the third cannon.

Driven, I’m sure, by arrogance more than common sense, the two
artillerymen had wheeled the cannon about a hundred feet out ahead of their
infantry trying again and again to get the big gun into a position to fire upon
us, but the rocky floor of the canyon continued to be a problem.

I decided that it was time to do something, and do it fast, before they
had time to get that third cannon out of the canyon and up to the ridge with
the other two. My mind raced as I looked around at the bare, rocky walls that
surrounded us. Though they were primarily rock, they would be next to
impossible to climb due to the fact that the rocks were loose and gravelly. Not
to mention that a few of the cannon balls that struck the wall had caused a
rockslide which buried four of my men as well as further ruining our chances
for escape. I stared at the pile of rubble and huge rocks that was now the
crude gravesite of the four soldiers, lost in the idea that had suddenly buried
itself in my head, until the simultaneous blasts from the two cannons made me
jump, shattering the image in my mind.

The two cannon balls hit the boulder just to my right. The impact caused
the huge rock to shatter, sending the two men crouched behind it flying
backward in a shower of dirt and dust.

Peering out from behind my boulder, I could see the third cannon about a
hundred feet away, midway between the Redcoats and us. The two artillerymen
were trying to pull the cannon back the way they had come with, no doubt, all
intentions of getting it up on the ridge while their infantry fired on us. As I
watched for the next few seconds, they had to turn the barrel away from us to get
it in a position to be pushed, but the large rocks and boulders that littered
the canyon floor continued to pose problems for them. Taking a quick glance at
the foot soldiers, I saw that they were holding their positions while the
cannons continued to do the dirty work.

It, then, finally dawned on me the one mistake their artillerymen on the
ridge were making: firing both cannons at the same time. There was about a
minute of silence between each dual blast, which would give me just enough time
to advance, and fire until I reached that single cannon. All my men would have
to do was fire at the Redcoats each time the two big guns were being reloaded.
I knew I could gain at least a hundred feet in sixty seconds on this terrain.
But there was no way I could get that cannon aimed by myself, therefore, my Sergeant, Jonathan Woodward, would accompany me.

After the next blasts of cannon fire, I quickly relayed my plan to the
remaining soldiers and told them what they were expected to do.

Jonathan and I waited until after one more bombardment, and then we made
our move.

As my men opened fire down the middle of the canyon, Jonathan and I stayed
as close to the wall as we could, running along the same side as the two
cannons so that they couldn’t get a shot on us even if they wanted.

Up ahead, the two soldiers were struggling with the cannon. Further up the
canyon, I could see the infantrymen yelling at them and gesturing for them to
turn around and shoot at us. Some were even taking aim at us. And, though, the
combination of the barking of my men’s muskets and echoes the cannon fire was
enough to wake the dead, it meant certain doom for these two men. They never
heard their fellow soldiers’ warnings, nor did they hear us run up from the
rear.

I ran up behind one of the artillerymen, ramming my musket’s bayonet into
the base of his skull until five inches of it broke through the top followed by
a bloody geyser. I quickly yanked it out and glanced over to see that Jonathan
had done the same.

We both dove to the ground next to the cannon, which offered very little
cover from any musket fire we might have received. Between the spokes of the
cannon’s wheels, I saw five Redcoats fall to the ground from ball wounds. The
others fired at us then ducked for cover.

I felt an agonizing pain race through my left thigh.

I had been shot.

I screamed
and grabbed my leg.

The cannons
exploded again.

Fighting the
pain, I put my shoulder behind the butt of the cannon and pointed it at the
canyon wall just below the two big guns up on the ridge. Jonathan struggled to
turn the wheel, trying to make it easier to position.

Something
hit the cannon just above my shoulder and I realized that the Redcoats were
firing on us again. As I threw myself to the ground, Jonathan had taken the
flint from his musket and tossed it to me just as four musket balls tore
through his chest.

The flint
had landed not two inches from my face. I picked it up and looked back over to
the Redcoats. Three more had fallen. The others had taken cover, reloading, no
doubt.

I only had a
few seconds before the artillery fired on my men, again. So, with all of the
strength I could muster, I pulled myself up to the fuse. Normally, one would
use a long torch to light it, but I didn’t have one and would have to take the
risk of a few broken ribs due to the recoil when the cannon fired.

Hugging the
big gun, I struck the flint across its metal body near the fuse. Sparks flew,
but no explosion. For a moment, I thought it to be empty, but knew that it
wasn’t because I had watched them load it the day before.

I struck the
flint again.

Nothing!

I struck it
again!

I could hear
the musket fire from my men behind me.

I could see
the Redcoats taking aim in front of me.

A hot musket
ball ripped through my left shoulder as I struck the flint once more.

Suddenly,
there was a massive blow to my chest as my cannon let out a pounding and
deafening cough. I was left without breath as I felt myself sailing through the
air, and then hitting the ground with a sickening smack. I found myself looking
up at the ridge where the two cannons had been perched.

My aim was
good enough. The iron ball had slammed into the loose rock only a few feet
beneath the two big guns and started an enormous rockslide. Both guns, along
with their four artillerymen, and what must have been a thousand pounds of
rock, came crashing down onto the remaining British infantrymen.

I was
instantly showered in dirt and rubble and I could taste the grit in my mouth.
Lying there in the settling dust, I looked over at the mountain of metal,
blood, and rock that I had created and smiled a weak, but victorious, smile.

Write a Review
Did you enjoy my story? Please let me know what you think by leaving a review! Thanks,
DOM L. DAVIS

tyleroakleyfan:
thank you for writing this story I loved it. it was great I enjoyed every minute of it I couldn't stop reading you did a fantastic job. Thanks for killing ron he was starting to piss me off. he was being a dick. I love that you made it a gay love story its about time someone did. love it great job.

Hawkebat:
Playing both Kotor I & II and Swtor I found the story line interesting and it held me until chapter 35 Very good story and plot flow until then, very few technical errors. I felt that the main character was a bit under and over powered, as it fought for balance. The last few chapters felt too f...

Sammi Chan:
THIS WAS AMAZING!!! My favorite part of this story was the slow build of Merlin and Arthur's relationship. Their relationship was rlly nicely fleshed out and so good :) The way that you handled the magic reveal was super enjoyable. I rlly liked the switching POVs. Good!Mordred was cute and I'm rl...

Ben Gauger:
Kudos to Bryan Laesch, author of Remnants of Chaos:Chaotic Omens for his use of the Gothic style of writing and in addition the footnotes and endnotes at the end of each chapter, a welcome accompaniment to be sure, though his use of grammar could use a little improving, but his use of punctuation...

Charlie_8472:
Recommended to me by a friend, I thought I'd give this a read. As a hobbyist blacksmith, the blurb certainly caught my attention. I found the sentence about them drinking, dancing and fighting a strange combination of activities, perhaps a reflection of the writer’s personality and humour. Howeve...

_JosephJacobson_:
I don't understand why this has such low ratings. I really enjoyed it!I think that the whole idea behind the plot had something very special and that was something that I really enjoyed. It was new, unique. I think that some of the writing was a little strange in places but overall it made sense ...

dd1226:
I love reading about other countries and I think this story about Cambodia after Polpot creates awareness of the tragedy that happened there and the actions of the U.N. to hold elections. The heroine of the story is easy to relate to, a modern, middleaged woman looking for an adventure, wanting t...

263Adder:
Okay so I adore this story. I only knocked one star off plot for historical inaccuracies because I'm a bit of a stickler for that. The ending broke my heart though, considering you already changed history couldn't you (SPOILER) change it a bit more and have them together!!!! I want an alternative...

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This is a very interesting book - mostly because the heroine is quite charming and well rounded, and has very real issues to manage in her life. Most of all,. I loved the view inside of the life of a South Asian girl/woman, the emotional self-talk, the customs and preferences, the expectations a...

Flik:
Hi! ^.^ huge fan of yours on ff.net! When I saw the note about this contest on The Way We Smile, I couldn't help but rush over here, create an account, and vote! XD Seriously love this story and would recommend it to anyone! :D best FT fanfiction out there. Amazing story, amazing concept that wa...

Guywithgunz:
Vanessa's saga has been an ongoing labor of love for the author and her core gp of fans.The saga as a whole is a must read for fans of Adventure / SciFi stories. The uploads here are in need of a final look by an editor for the spelling and grammatical errors that have crept in somehow into the f...

Leah Brown:
This was an amazing read! I was hooked from the very first chapter, holding my breadth to see what would happen next. The characters are rich and vibrant, and the world Danielle has created is fascinating. If you love YA, you MUST read this book. Such a smart, brilliant debut novel. I loved it!